Laolao52012 Our Laolao campaign Our Laolao: Litter free. On land and sea "Tucked in a lush valley on Saipans windward side, Laolao Bays rich coral reef ecosystem has made it a popular fishing spot for generations and earned it the reputation as Saipans best all-weather dive site, averaging up to 200 divers per day. Laolao Bay is a cherished recreation site for local families, providing a peaceful backdrop for picnics, BBQs and swimming excursions. As rich on land as it is in the sea, the area also draws hikers, runners, and history buffs to view its artifacts, including pictographs, village remnants and pottery deposits that date back several thousand years. Laolao is truly a community treasure. But Laolao reefs and forests, like many places on Saipan, are under environmental stress from such things as sedimentation, invasive species and habitat loss, among other critical threats. In fact, Laolao was designated as a focal point for efforts to restore marine and terrestrial environments in the CNMI, given its environmental and cultural value and the threats to its health. However, for these efforts to be successful, we believe community members must be empowered to lead the way. Surveys have been done to assess what community users were most concerned about in Laolao. Littering and dumping have consistently scored the highest, by sizable margins. In response to what concerns residents the most, the campaign determined that making Laolao litter-free is the first big step to protecting Laolao for generations to come. To do that, the strategy is simple: Give community champions opportunities to tell why they believe the place is special and deserves special care. The Our Laolao campaign is striving to capture peoples stories about why they cherish the bay and in the process, inspire everyone to help keep Laolao Bay litter-free for future generations. Once you know how much your neighbor cares about the place, its hard not to respect it. So please visit The Voices section to learn more about why people value Laolao. And keep an eye, and ear, out for fun promotions that will help these individuals demonstrate their pride in this special place. But their stories alone are not enough. The campaign wants to encourage more people to share their Laolao stories and continue to raise the drumbeat for taking care of Laolao. We want to hear your Laolao stories. Go to Share Your Story to tell it. The campaign will also shine a light on the rich cultural and environmental value of the bay and what community members can to do protect it. We hope users will learn more about how special the place is to our island identity and how important it is to our past and future. Supporters can then sign a pledge to show support for a litter-free Laolao and participate in campaign activities, such as beach cleanups. Or you can just wear an Our Laolao T-shirt with pride and spread the word. Everything helps. Visit the Get Involved? section to learn more. Our Laolao is an experiment in how powerful a community can be if it cherishes the places that make us who we are and speaks out on their behalf. Our Laolao is the first step in a community-driven effort to save not only Laolao, but what makes Saipan special and the CNMI special. From Laolao, we hope to reach out to other parts of Saipan and the CNMI to protect our special way of life. But a journey starts with one step. So take this first step with us in Laolao and lets see how far it can take us." 20120518000000 CNMI 146 142 14.2 21 web-page web-page CoRIS Bibliographic